


but first, let's talk about parallel universes

by NoSanaNoLife



Category: TWICE (Band)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-18
Updated: 2019-08-13
Packaged: 2019-11-19 00:45:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18128717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoSanaNoLife/pseuds/NoSanaNoLife
Summary: A collection of AU oneshots/snippets featuring the members of Twice. This work will feature just one-off ideas I had for stories that I don't plan on expanding.





	1. Dahyun in the Bathroom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dahyun locks herself in the bathroom at a party. But she realizes that she isn't alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by the song, "Michael in the Bathroom," from the "Be More Chill" musical.

Dahyun rushed into the bathroom, not bothering to knock. Upon entry, she turned around, locked the door, and rested her head on the door.

“Damn it Dahyun,” she muttered to herself. “This wasn’t supposed to happen. You’re being so dumb right now.” She sighed loudly and let herself unwind as the muffed sounds of a high school party washed over her.

“Um…excuse me?”

Dahyun’s eyes flew open, and she turned her head so quickly that she nearly gave herself whiplash. There, sitting on a closed toilet lid, was another girl, who’s eyes were just as wide as Dahyun’s. The girl had on a simple sweater and jeans, and her jet black hair fell to her shoulders and perfectly framed her head. It was a neat, neutral look that Dahyun couldn’t help but compare to her own choice of wearing an oversized sweatshirt and sweatpants.

It only made Dahyun more conscious of the fact that she looked like an idiot at this social gathering.

Eventually, Dahyun realized that the girl on the toilet was waiting for Dahyun to acknowledge her, and she was brought out of her thoughts when she saw the girl adopt a concerned expression.

“O-oh. Hi?” Dahyun starts weakly. The girl only raises an eyebrow in confusion. “I, uh, didn’t realize this was an occupied bathroom. I can leave if I’m making you uncomfortable.”

Dahyun was reaching for the door knob, when she heard a quiet “wait” from the girl on the toilet.

“Ah, no, it’s okay. I wasn’t really…using it. As you can hopefully see.” The stranger gestured to her pants still being firmly on her waist, and Dahyun let out a soft chuckle. “Besides,” the stranger continued. “It sounds like you need a break too.”

“Oh maaaan, you heard that?” Dahyun whined while using her hair to try and hide. The other girl gives a high-pitched giggle, and Dahyun can’t help but be reminded of bells ringing. “Well since I’ve already embarrassed myself, I might as well introduce myself. Kim Dahyun. Embarrassing junior who talks to herself.”

She gives the introduction a little more flourish by doing jazz hands, and the girl giggles again. Dahyun wants to record the sound and make it her ringtone: she doesn’t know if she could get tired of it.

“I’m Myoui Mina. Senior. First time partygoer.”

“Mmm I see,” Dahyun grabs her chin and gives Mina an analytical look. “Well Mina, as an expert party attendee, I have to inform you that you’re not supposed to spend the whole party in the bathroom.”

Mina gives a slight smirk. “Well Ms. Party Expert, I also heard that you’re not supposed to enter bathrooms without knocking, but you seem to be pretty comfortable barging in here.”

Dahyu, caught off the guard, blushed a little in embarrassment. “W-well, you should lock it! Duh! What if some creeper walked in?”

“I’m starting to think one did,” Mina retorts, further flustering Dahyun. She began flailing her arms in an attempt to clear her name.

“No no no! I swear I didn’t know you were in here! Or anybody else! I just really needed to get a break from all the people for a little bit. I mean everyone is super nice and no one scared me or bullied me. But I was feeling a bit uncomfortable,” Dahyun ranted. The girl was soon in a perpetual loop of trying to explain her emotions without offending anybody else.

Eventually, Mina took pity on the poor girl. “Hey, it’s okay. I understand. I was just teasing. I don’t think you’re a creeper.”

Dahyun, who was busy taking in deep breaths after her long monologue, simply gave a thumbs up in appreciation. The two sat in silence for a while, the only sound being Dahyun catching her breath.

Usually Dahyun couldn’t stand silence. It meant that nothing was happening and Dahyun always found it incredibly awkward when no one was saying anything at a social gathering. She had always felt a pressure to fill that silence in some way.

But Mina was comfortable staring at the floor for a minute, and Dahyun felt that expectation to make small talk disappear. It was homey.

Surprisingly, it was Mina who broke the silence once Dahyun was breathing normally again.

“So what happened out there?” Mina asked innocently. It was such a simple question, but it felt like the answer was too personal to give to a complete stranger. Mina was essentially asking Dahyun to lay out what was happening inside her frazzled mind to initiate such an overreaction.

But then again, she was the one who locked herself in the bathroom with a cute senior. And then talked to herself. Surely there wasn’t that much left to lose to a girl who only knew her name?

“I just…kind of had a freakout? Not like in front of everybody, God no. But in my head I was feeling a little overwhelmed. It’s hard to explain,” Dahyun struggled to articulate her situation. She didn’t know what she expected Mina to say, but to her surprise, the girl nodded vigorously.

“I actually feel it too. You’re not at all close to everybody, but the walls feel like they’re coming closer and you feel like everyone is taking away all the air in the room!” Mina quickly said, while using her hands to demonstrate the walls coming closer.

“Actually, yeah!” Dahyun excitedly agrees. She sat down on the floor of the bathroom (on the mat) and scooted closer to Mina. “I don’t even know what came over me!”

Mina scratched her chin and stared at the ceiling. Dahyun, reckoning the girl was deep in thought, patiently waited with hands folded on her lap.

“Oh,” Mina suddenly said. “Did you have any of the fruit punch outside? You know, by the oven?”

Dahyun tilted her head in confusion. “Yeah, someone told me it was a refreshment for people who didn’t want to drink. I got really thirsty since it’s so hot in this house.”

Mina unexpectedly burst into a fit of giggles. Normally, Dahyun would ask why her new friend had laughed at a relatively uninteresting story. But part of her was taking back her earlier thought of making Mina’s laugh her ringtone. She probably wouldn’t ever pick up the phone if it meant stopping that sound.  

“Dahyun,” Mina squeezed in between laughs. “That was totally spiked. You had a little bit of alcohol.”

The pale girl’s face only seemed to get paler, as she realized that she had gotten slightly tipsy. And that was the reason she had become so conscious of everything around her and so disoriented.

“Oh my God, I’m drunk!” Dahyun whisper-shouts, and Mina leans slightly off the seat to reassuringly pat Dahyun on the back.

“Maybe not drunk. Probably just a bit tipsy,” Mina calmly affirms. “You’ll be fine in a bit with some water.”

Dahyun groans and leans backwards, falling onto the ground. “God I’m such a loser. I wish I was never born.” She tried to pull her head under her sweatshirt to hide from the world and this pretty girl she had just met.

Mina moves off the toilet to sit closer to Dahyun. She softly rubs Dahyun’s thighs, and Dahyun admittedly feels soothed by the serenity Mina seems to radiate. “You’re not the first, and won’t be the last, girl to be caught off guard by a run-in with alcohol. No one here will even remember it.”

Dahyun peaks out of the sweatshirt a little bit, and Mina feels her heart skip a beat at the cute image.

“Well, except for me of course.”

Dahyun gives another annoyed grunt, and retracts her head back into her sweatshirt. “What about you? What brings you to a bathroom all by yourself?”

Mina stops comforting Dahyun, and leans back, her arms going behind her to support her weight. “My buddy kind of left me alone. She’s my best friend, but she got sidetracked with her crush. I kinda ran into the same situation you did, only without the alcohol. Momo warned me about that before she ran off.”

“Sounds like a shitty best friend.” The sound came from still inside the sweatshirt.

“Hey, don’t badmouth my best friend you turtle. I just didn’t want to look awkward, fake-texting or some dumb shit like that.”

Dahyun finally emerged from the sweatshirt and gave Mina a skeptical look. “Yeah, and fake-peeing is so much better of an excuse.”

Mina rolled her eyes. “Not my best idea, but remember my disclaimer earlier? First time partygoer. First time going solo.”

Before Dahyun could respond sarcastically, a knock could be heard at the door. Instinctively, Dahyun replied “occupied”, but didn’t expect Mina to say the exact same thing. They turned to each other, mortified at what the sound of two people speaking from the same bathroom could be misconstrued for.

“Oh, sorry!” A high pitched apology came from the other side, and the sound of footsteps rapidly leaving.

Mina and Dahyun stared at one another in shock, before both of them burst into laughter again.

“Oh my God, she probably thought we were having bathroom sex or something!” Dahyun exclaims in both surprise and joy.

“Well, at least we sounded normal. God if we didn’t say it so seriously, they might’ve thought we were some stoners getting high in the bathroom,” Mina barely manages to get out while suppressing her laugh.

“Imagine if she actually knew we were just two anxious teenagers doing absolutely nothing in the bathroom. Is there a sadder sight?”

“Yeah, it could be just one of us alone.”

The two start laughing again, and at this point Dahyun isn’t sure if it’s the alcohol or the laughter that’s making her head spin. Dahyun was realizing that Mina, despite her quiet voice, was incredibly funny. Their back and forth felt so natural, as if she was talking to one of her best friends like Chaeyoung and Tzuyu.

It made Dahyun realize that despite how much fun she was having while talking to Mina, she didn’t know anything at all about the girl. Just her name and year. _Well I can’t let it stay that way!_ Dahyun thought.

“Hey,” Dahyun suddenly asks. “Why are we still in this bathroom? It’s been like, an hour.”

Mina looks away sheepishly. “I don’t know to be honest. I guess I’m kind of waiting for Momo to be done partying and tell me when it’s time to leave. And you’re fun to talk to, so I was kinda hoping we didn’t have to stop.”

The honest omission had Dahyun blushing again. What was it about Mina that constantly put her in a state of bashfulness?

“Well, I did drive here. And I’m pretty sure I’ve sobered up in the hour we’ve spent doing absolutely nothing. Wanna go for a milkshake or something?”

“Really?” Mina asks, the surprise evident in her face. “But all you know is my name?”

“I mean, that can easily be remedied over milkshakes. Besides, would you rather just stay here, or disappear?”

“Didn’t you ever learn about the concept of stranger danger in middle school?”

“Didn’t you ever learn to lock the bathroom door?”

Mina smiles, and Dahyun thinks to herself that she could stare at the sight for the rest of the night. Instead, Dahyun grabs Mina’s hand, and uses her other hand to unlock the bathroom. The duo makes a beeline for the exit, dodging the sweaty and drunk party attendees as they navigate to the front door. They burst outside, and Dahyun feels refreshed by the cold air and open space.

“Well, that was certainly a party I guess,” Mina says while covering her mouth with a hand as she laughs. Dahyun instinctively snickered too. She continued to drag Mina towards her car. As she was starting the car and Mina was putting on her seatbelt, Dahyun stared at the Japanese beauty in awe. Of all the circumstances that would lead them to meeting, it was a random party neither had wanted to attend.

“It was an awesome party,” Dahyun finally replies. “I’m so glad I came though.” Mina simply gives Dahyun a gummy smile, and the two drive off to find a 24-hour diner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading.


	2. The Australian Open

“The Australian Open?”

Jihyo looked up from her laptop, unamused. A confused, pale looking girl wearing sweatpants and an oversized sweatshirt stared back at her with a comical expression.

“Yeah, I’m heading there for a business trip. I’m asking if you wanted to tag along.”

Dahyun put a finger on her chin as she thought about Jihyo’s offer. _On one hand, I’ve never been to Australia, and this is a good chance. On the other hand, I don’t even want to leave my room…_

“Wait,” Dahyun suddenly looks up. “What even is the Australian Open?”

Jihyo rolls her eyes in amusement. “It’s a big tennis tournament. One of the big grand slams. All the best players in the world will be there.”

“I…didn’t even know you’re into tennis?”

“I’m not,” Jihyo replies, smiling at the silliness of her playing tennis. “But again, I have some business there. I figured it’d be fun to bring my best friend and roommate. It’s not like you had any other plans this summer right?”

Dahyun again furrows her eyebrows. It was true. The pale girl had recently finished up an internship at a tech company in Seoul. And the school year wasn’t starting for another month.

“Look, I would love to have someone to come home too while I’m busy. You know how stressful my job can be,” Jihyo urged, clasping her hands together. “And we can have lots of fun in between my shifts!”

“Yeah, that job that I don’t even know what you do? I swear, you could be working for the mafia or something.”

“I told you, I work for an accounting firm. If I told you what I did, that would be inside trading…and ILLEGAL. Even if I did work for the mafia, do you think I’d be living with your broke ass?” Jihyo teased.

Dahyun pouted and stomped her foot. “That’s the perfect cover! Also, poor by choice! If I shelled out now, I could be making the big bucks at Naver!”

Jihyo waved her hand dismissively. “Yeah, yeah. So you in?”

“I don’t know…given all the news abroad, it doesn’t seem like the safest thing to do.” Dahyun pinched the bridge of her nose, and Jihyo felt the pale younger Korean’s resolve weakening.

“Go with your gut on this one!” Jihyo cheered, pumping one fist in the air.

Dahyun again entered the deep recess of her mind to reflect upon her offer. She thought about how much of a pain it would be to travel an entire day to get to Australia. She considered the fact that she had never picked up a tennis racket, let alone cared about the results of a tournament. And she worried about the deadly animals the Internet loved to bring up.

But Jihyo gave her the puppy eyes, and Dahyun realized she never had a choice in the matter.

…

“The mission in simple,” a man in a suit says from behind his desk. “We’ve been tracking some of their previous attacks internationally, and we have narrowed the target to a few places. We will be spreading out our agents at each of these locations. Once there, you will…”

Sana tuned out the rest of the executive’s boring speech. She’s heard the spiel before. Though she was still fairly new to the organization compared to the veterans, she had already been on ten missions and risked her life all over the world. These precautionary missions were fairly standard and most times nothing ever happened.

She felt a nudge from her side, and looked to see her friend and fellow agent, Mina Myoui, gesturing at her to focus. Sana looked over to see the boss glaring at her. Sana returned the stare with a wink and peace sign, and the man sighed.

“Minatozaki, pay attention! You and Myoui will be stationed in Australia for the duration of the Australian Open, a tennis tournament. Keep a lookout and report any suspicious activity.

Sana mock saluted and Mina lightly slapped her shoulder while holding back a laugh. The rest of the meeting went smoothly, and Sana and Mina left quickly once it was over.

“I see you’re excited for this mission,” Mina says sarcastically. Sana chuckles and waves her hand.

“Nah, you know it’ll be one of those long stakeouts where nothing happens. I’m just appreciative of the travel opportunity. I’ve always wanted to see the Sydney Opera House.”

“Mm, that’s true. Lots of new sights to see. I’m glad we get to go during the Australian Open. We can see Momo again,” Mina excitedly says. “Plus, I’m sure it won’t be that bad. After all, the less action, the better for us and the world, right?”

Sana rolls her eyes good-naturedly at Mina’s positivity. “Of course. But I hope I find something exciting to do there. I wouldn’t want to spend my free time in between shifts third-wheeling you guys.” Mina ignored the last jab in favor of opening her phone to presumably text Momo of their itinerary.

Inwardly, Sana sighed. She sincerely wished to find something more exciting during her time in Australia. _Even a little action wouldn’t hurt_ , Sana thought, as she and Mina left to prepare for their excursion.

…

Dahyun sipped her overpriced iced tea. Australia was a lot hotter than she expected. And it was January! She hadn’t packed as well for this trip as Jihyo had warned her. The latter was engrossed in a pamphlet she had obtained at the hotel lobby, meticulously planning their evening outings. Dahyun always preferred to let Jihyo take the wheel in these cases. If it wasn’t obvious enough, she wasn’t much of a planner.

Dahyun looks around the crowd, and quickly spots something interesting.

“Hey Ji,” Dahyun nudges Jihyo. “There’s a tall chick staring at you. Maybe she’s interested in you?”

“Eh?” Jihyo exclaims, and looks around. The tall woman is extraordinarily beautiful, Dahyun notes. Even behind her sunglasses, Dahyun can easily discern both her attractive face, and the fact that she keeps glancing at their table every once in a while.

“Ha ha, as if I have time for a foreign romance,” Jihyo dismisses with a hand wave. Dahyun tries to point out how beautiful the stranger was, but Jihyo continued. “Anyways, help me plan out what we want to do. I only have a few days available to do stuff.”

Dahyun groans. “And I have to find something to do with the rest of that time?”

Jihyo smiles apologetically. “I just hope you don’t get yourself into any trouble. Remember, we aren’t in Korea. Customs may be different here.”

“Yeah yeah, got it mom,” Dahyun sticks her tongue out and Jihyo forces Dahyun into a headlock. They wrestle for a few seconds before some odd glances force Jihyo to stop out of embarrassment.

“So what are you gonna do tomorrow? I got work tomorrow all day, so you’re gonna have to manage on your own.”

Dahyun closed her eyes and sighed. “Probably just Yelp something. I’ll figure it out. Just get work done and we can catch up at night.” Dahyun brought her fists close to her face and imitated a crying baby, and Jihyo chuckled.

“Anything for you kiddo.”

…

Jihyo had to work her shifts in the early mornings for some ungodly reason. Dahyun wanted to give Jihyo her sympathy and encouragement, but ultimately she couldn’t even wish the busy bee a good morning due to her love of sleep. So Jihyo disappeared in the morning, and Dahyun was left with a need to find some way to entertain herself.

So five minutes and a bowl of instant ramen later, Dahyun was exploring an aquarium near the Australian Open venue. Not exactly her favorite thing in the world, but at least she and the scary sea animals were separated by a glass wall.

She was deeply transfixed by a camouflaging octopus, when she felt someone bump into her. Dahyun barely managed to catch herself, but the stranger ended up tripping and falling onto the ground.

“Oh no! Are you okay?” Dahyun asks the woman.

The woman rubbed her head, but nodded. “Yeah, not my worst fall.”

Dahyun did a quick look to search for injuries, but instead found herself in awe of how beautiful this stranger was. She snapped out of her reverie in time for the woman to stand up on her own. “I’m sorry about that! My name is Dahyun. Is there any way I can make it up to you?”

The woman made eye contact and seemed to pause for a second before smiling. “Hi, my name is Sana. You can pay me back with your phone number.”

Dahyun’s eyes widened and she barely kept down a cough from the surprise. “Uh…I’m not supposed to give my number to strangers?” She cringed internally at the lame excuse. _What am I, eight?_

Sana giggles and Dahyun instinctively smiles at the sound. “Well in that case, can I bring you to the aquarium reception desk? I think I need to help some parents find their lost kid.”

“What?! No, I’m like 21. You can’t treat me like a child!” Dahyun sputtered in mock indignation.

Her joke got another set of giggles from Sana. “In that case, let me treat you like an adult. I demand some form of retribution for knocking me over.” Sana decided to move closer and Dahyun felt herself leaning back until her back hit the wall of the room they were in. Dahyun wanted to say something witty back since technically Sana had been the one to run into her. But she felt herself getting worried about actually having to pay for her mistake and intimidated by Sana slightly looming over her.

“I-I don’t have any money! I’m a poor college student! I swear!” Dahyun pleads. Sana’s smile turns into a smirk, and Dahyun begins to realize that Sana was very much enjoying this.

“I don’t need money. But how about you pay me back by accompanying me for the rest of this aquarium visit,” Sana offers, extending a hand. In Dahyun’s head, she can hear Jihyo already scolding her for not only knocking over a stranger but also agreeing to spend the day with said stranger for absolutely no reason other then the fact that she was cute.

But before Dahyun could even consider walking away, her hand is quickly placed on Sana’s. The stranger grins and her eyes fill with mirth. And Dahyun thinks that whatever admonishment she’ll hear tonight doesn’t compare to the emotions Sana is making her feel.

…

Dahyun stumbles into the hotel at nearly midnight, and finds Jihyo deep in conversation on the phone.

“No, I’ll make sure it’s taken care of the day of,” Jihyo says, while noticing Dahyun in the reflection of the window she was staring out of. She quickly mouths a hello before returning to the call. “I just need to install the last of it, and we’ll be set. I’ll get it done early in the morning. Thanks.”

Jihyo hangs up and turns her attention to Dahyun, who was preoccupied with changing clothes and preparing for bed.

“I didn’t expect to see you get in so late. Find something interesting to do?”

Dahyun hums happily. “Not something, someone.” She cheerily turns to Jihyo, who has adopted a bit of a judgmental visage. “Wait, I messed up. I just meant I made a new friend!”

“I was gonna say, it’s a bit of a bold move for you. On the first date no less? Is my Dahyunnie growing up?”

Dahyun blushed and rapidly shook her head. “No no no no no…but I do have someone to pass the time with while you’re working. She happens to work the night shifts as a bodyguard, so she doesn’t do much in the afternoons. We met in the aquarium, and tomorrow we’re going to the zoo for the koalas and kangaroos.”

Jihyo raises a single eyebrow. “What did I tell you about stranger danger?”

Rolling her eyes, Dahyun plops onto her bed across from Jihyo. “I was worried for a second too, but Sana was so sweet and fun! She wouldn’t hurt a fly, unless she fell on top of it.”

Jihyo’s skepticism quickly gave way, and she smiled warmly. “I still have some doubts, but I’m glad you found someone to accompany you! Introduce me to her sometime. Honestly, I was feeling a bit guilty about dragging you along and then ditching you for the start of the trip.”

Dahyun shakes her head. “No way,” Dahyun disagrees. “How can you feel guilty about giving me a chance to travel? This is great so you just focus on being productive and then we can have lots of fun in between.” Jihyo moves to hug Dahyun, all the while cooing at how cool and mature Dahyun had sounded. She then headed to the bathroom to do her own nightly routine.

“Besides,” Dahyun mutters under her breath. “I think I’ll have plenty to be grateful for when this is all over.”

…

Their trip to the zoo goes about as well as their meeting at the aquarium.

Sana freaks out over every cute animal there. Dahyun refuses to come within ten feet of the cages the larger animals are housed in. And yet, the two couldn’t help but find something to laugh and smile about at every exhibit. Whether it was Sana getting pushed by a baby goat in the petting zoo or Dahyun screaming when she saw a Koala poop, the duo found something precious in every moment.

They grabbed lunch at some random Italian restaurant. They shared a pasta dish, and Dahyun laughed at Sana’s continued attempts to reenact Lady and the Tramp and find the other end of whatever noodle Dahyun starts to eat. Honestly, they looked like children having fun instead of adults in a foreign land.

But for some reason, neither even considered how foolish they looked to others. They were too caught up with each other.

Dahyun was obsessed with getting Sana to laugh as much as possible, because there was something so addicting about her laugh that reminded Dahyun of her favorite songs. The ones that she couldn’t stop from dancing along to and that gave her ample energy during the day.

For Sana, she couldn’t get enough of how engaging Dahyun was. From her silly jokes to how unnecessarily extra she had to be in simple situations, Dahyun was just so much fun to be around. It was like constantly watching a string of never-ending sketches and stand-up comics: Dahyun was always ready to entertain.

The two tourists were so eager to learn more about each other that any semblance of shyness or awkwardness was nonexistent. They talked about everything and anything. Sana recounted the time she passed out during a hot shower and had to be pulled out by her roommate at the time. Dahyun showed off her “famous” eagle dance that briefly made her Internet famous.

Naturally, Sana had demanded a sequel to be filmed by the bald eagle enclosure, and Dahyun made a big deal about following Sana into the bathroom (“in case I need to save a damsel in distress!”). Anyone watching would have assumed the two had known each for years. But the duo was simply determined to make the most of their time together.

While they drifted from attraction to attraction, Sana and Dahyun had the same thought: “I hope this trip never ends.”

…

Jihyo was waiting by the entrance to their hotel, quietly browsing through some documents on her phone. She and Dahyun had agreed to meet here before going for a late night walk along the beach. But it seems her best friend had been preoccupied.

Jihyo’s mouth quirked. Well to be fair, she had been the one who was busy during most of their trip so far. Nothing wrong with Dahyun being a few minutes late. She owed the smaller girl at least that much.

The sound of giggling prompted Jihyo to look up, and she saw Dahyun laughing and walking along with another woman. Sana, Jihyo presumed, was holding Dahyun’s upper arm while guffawing. And Dahyun was talking animatedly, her mouth running at a hundred miles per hour. The two were clearly in their own world, laughing and talking while barely paying enough attention to not run into anybody (though Sana had a few close calls).

Jihyo’s smiled. As long as Dahyun was enjoying her trip, she was content.

“Oh, Jihyo! Sorry if I kept you waiting!” Dahyun eagerly waved and dragged Sana forward. “This is the friend I was telling you about. Jihyo, meet Sana! Sana, Jihyo!”

Sana and Jihyo shook hands, and both were surprised to find how firm and confidently the other shook.

“Nice to meet you!” Jihyo says with a bright smile. “Thanks for spending time with Dahyun! I was worried she’d be bored without me.”

Sana chuckled and gave Dahyun a sweet glance. “The pleasure is all mine. Thanks for bringing Dahyun to Australia! She’s so much fun to hang out with!”

The two exchange a few more pleasantries while Dahyun beamed happily on the side. Eventually, Sana excuses herself, citing that her boss needed her, and she left after enveloping Dahyun in a big hug.

As Sana headed towards a street to catch an Uber, Jihyo gave Dahyun a sly glance. The latter had a clearly dreamy expression that Jihyo wished she could capture on film.

_Click!_

So she did.

“Unnie!” Dahyun whined.

Jihyo simply laughed and dragged Dahyun towards the beach. Dahyun proceeded to tell Jihyo all about her day and Jihyo listened and hummed whenever Dahyun launched into praise about Sana.

“So what do you have planned for tomorrow?” Jihyo asked.

Dahyun laughed and scratched the back of her head. “Actually, Sana invited me to watch the women’s final. Apparently her friend is in it, so she got some decent seats.”

Jihyo widened her eyes and frowned. “Oh? Are you sure it’ll be fun? You don’t even know the rules of tennis.”

“Yeah, but Sana knows them so I think I’ll be okay. Sana definitely wants to go, so I want to go too.”

Jihyo’s frown deepened and Dahyun was feeling a bit nervous. Jihyo rarely looked so concerned.

“Well, where are you guys sitting?”

Dahyun closed her eyes to think. “I thiiiink…like third row? I think around the photography pit?”

“Well, can you ask Sana and find out? I can probably get you guys better tickets, but I don’t want to if you guys already got good seats.” Jihyo hummed and looked away, the frown not leaving her face.

Dahyun was still a bit confused at Jihyo’s insistence but then remembered how hard Jihyo had been working since she arrived. She hadn’t noticed since Sana had been keeping her entertained, but Jihyo spent a lot of time working. “Yeah, I’ll text her back at the hotel, thanks. Is everything cool? At work and stuff?”

Jihyo looked back and smiled again. “Yeah, just want to make sure my tofu has the perfect seats for her date tomorrow!”

Dahyun blushed profusely and looked at the ground. “Unnie! We’re just going as friends. I don’t even know if I’ll see her again after this trip.”

At the sight of Dahyun looking flustered, Jihyo couldn’t help but laugh. She pulled the younger woman closer to herself, and they spent the rest of the night talking and relaxing.

…

Sana returned to her hotel room after a long night of surveillance. She and Mina had swept the grounds and monitored the police scanner for hours, but nothing came up. While normally she would be annoyed at wasting her time waiting for nothing to happen, Sana had instead been happy to sit back and share all of her recent adventures with Mina.

It was unbelievable how seamlessly the two had fit together upon a chance meeting in the aquarium. Even sillier was how smitten with the foreign girl Sana had found herself. She hadn’t felt this overwhelmed by another person since the time Mina literally beat her up in a training exercise. Dahyun just had that power to knock Sana off her feet.

The Japanese woman went to lie in bed, and put her arm over her face. Even thinking about her new friend made her heart speed up. Sana Minatozaki, over the course of about two days, had fallen in love.

And given the looks Dahyun was sneaking in when she thought she was being subtle, Sana was fairly confident the Korean girl liked her back. There was still a lot to figure out, especially given how secretive her occupation was, but Sana was ready to share that truth with Dahyun. She was sure that she needed the Korean woman in her life, and she would willingly trade her dangerous lifestyle for a more sessile one with Dahyun.

So tomorrow, she decided to attempt to define their relationship. When she relayed her plan to her partner, Mina simply requested that the two didn’t have sex in their shared hotel room. Sana had laughed and made no promises, much to Mina’s chagrin.

Smiling brightly, Sana couldn’t help but smile at the thought of spending another day with Dahyun. It was going to be a perfect date.

…

Sana hadn’t expected it. She was a federal agent who had trained for years to be prepared for unexpected acts of terrorism. But maybe she had been too relaxed from joking with Dahyun. She didn’t see _this_ coming.

One moment, she was attempting to explain the concept of double faulting to Dahyun while flirting up a storm. The next, she was nearly thrown off her chair by the force of an explosion nearby.

Someone had blown up the supports of the broadcasting booth suspended above some of the spectator seats. It fell and crushed numerous people in the stands. At the same time, a barrage of explosions erupted from all around the campus.

There was immediate screaming and panic. People were running everywhere, trying to either escape or assist the injured. Sana looked down at the court, and could see her partner, Mina, guiding the competitors out of the court and towards safety. She looked again at the area where the booth had fallen, and realized that it was the seating area of several famous spectators.

She wasn’t sure who exactly had been sitting there, but by the looks of the panicked men in suits digging through the debris, they were someone important.

Sana immediately attempted to jump into action, but felt something holding her down. She looked down to see an even paler Dahyun, desperately clinging onto Sana’s arm.

“W-where are you going? We need to get out of here!” Dahyun frantically yelled. Sana would have laughed at how clingy the younger girl had suddenly become if it weren’t for the grave situation.

“Dahyun,” Sana begins, grabbing Dahyun’s face and forcing them to make eye contact. Though she felt bad about being rough with Dahyun, this was a dire situation in need of professionalism. “You need to get out of here. Find some cops who can help guide you out of here.”

Dahyun’s eyes widened. “But what about you?”

Sana smiled. “Sweetie, this is what I’m trained to do. I’m going to check on my coworker Mina and try to figure out what’s going on. Maybe help some people if I can. But I can’t do that if I have to worry about you too.”

Dahyun takes shaky breaths while trying to process what Sana was telling her. “You don’t want me around so I won’t be a burden?”

“That’s not how I would prefer to phrase it, but we really are running out of time. There are lives I can still save Dahyun. Please understand.”

Dahyun is still shaking, but she takes a deep breath and nods. “I’ll try to call Jihyo and get somewhere safe. Please, call me when you’re done and safe too.”

Sana smiles brightly. “Of course!” She gives a kiss on Dahyun’s cheek, and Dahyun goes from shaking and scared to embarrassed and pouting. The quick turnaround in expression makes Sana laugh. “For good luck!”

And with that, Dahyun lets go and Sana leaps over the stands, rushing down to the courts.

…

Mina was busy corralling everyone on court to the nearest exit. Momo gave Mina a scared glance, but Mina did her best to give a reassuring smile back. She suddenly sensed someone rushing towards her, and turned around to see Sana vaulting over the railing of the front seats.

“Is everyone alright?” Sana wastes no time in asking.

“No one on court was hurt. I’m getting everyone out here. I don’t know what’s happening but I suspect that whoever set up those explosives didn’t have much time to do it. We swept the area earlier today, and I can’t imagine anyone would have missed something that could cause _that_.”

Sana looked over again and forced herself to not think about all those people who were considerably flattened. She shuddered. So much for that effort.

“I’m going to sweep through the inside real quick. Get these guys out. Take care of Momo, please.”

Before Sana could run out, Mina quickly grabbed her wrists. The younger Japanese agent looked scared and Sana did her best not to let her panic get the best of her.

“Call for backup before you go in.”

“Of course.” Sana turns to run again but Mina pulled her back.

“From _HQ._ Please.”

Sana nodded grimly. She pulled out her phone, and Mina finally released her. As Sana sprinted while speed dialing for backup, Momo tapped Mina on the shoulder.

“Will she be alright?” Momo asked with a shaking voice. Mina again forced herself to stay calm and looked Momo in the eyes.

“Of course. Now let’s get out of here.”

…

Dahyun was desperately trying to dial Jihyo before she left the stadium. Jihyo was probably worried sick if she heard about the explosions. Well, she could probably have heard the explosions from wherever she was.

But every call was going to voicemail, and Dahyun was getting the feeling that something had happened to her best friend. _I wouldn’t know what to do if Jihyo was hurt_ , she thought.

Sana had told her to get out and to go somewhere safe. But something was stopping her from moving. She had a feeling that she needed to follow Sana.

Dahyun looked towards the service tunnel that Sana had run into, and noted that nobody would care if she snuck in. There were too many people and too little organization.

“Ah, I can’t believe I’m even debating this,” Dahyun scolded herself. Of course she needed to get out. Even if she could do something, what help could Dahyun offer by running in after Sana?

As she stood frozen, trying to come to a decision, Jihyo’s words echoed in her mind.

_Go with your gut!_

Dahyun sighed, and pinched the bridge of her nose. _I’m gonna regret this. Curse my stupid, heroic gut!_

She quickly ran down the stands and towards the service tunnel.

…

Sana carefully made her way through the network of service tunnels. She wanted to make sure there weren’t any additional explosives set and avoid alerting any malicious agents of her presence. She was scanning the area quickly while tracking in her head how much time she had until her backup was ready.

As she turned a corner, she saw someone fidgeting with something on a column. It looked to be some sort of structural support. _Must be more explosives then,_ Sana surmised. She took another look to see if the person had any weapons visible. Once she was sure that the person was emptyhanded, Sana approached.

“Hey! Stop what you’re doing right now!”

The person turned around and Sana gasped. It was a young woman, with long, brown hair and wide eyes. She was short, and was holding a mass of wires in one hand and a screwdriver with another. When the two made eye contact, the woman blinked in surprise before narrowing.

“Sana.”

“…Jihyo.”

“What brings you down here?” Jihyo asks innocently, dropping all the things she was holding.

“I thought that whoever caused that big ruckus up there probably had to still be nearby. I just didn’t think she’d be a friend-kind of close.”

Jihyo raised an eyebrow in surprise before giving a defeated smile. “Looks like you’ve already put two and two together. Any chance you can let me go? I’d hate to fight Dahyun’s crush.”

Sana didn’t even let the tease bother her. This wasn’t just a criminal right now. This was a potential _terrorist_. She put her fists up. “I’m placing you under arrest. Please put your hands above your head and lie on the ground.”

Jihyo quickly put on a serious expression and shifted to a martial arts stance. “I guess we’re doing this the hard way.”

…

Mina finally transports everybody in her vicinity to a nearby shelter. It took longer than expected.

After assuring Momo that she would be fine, Mina tried running back to the stadium while phoning HQ.

“I have to get back in there. Sana is looking for any potential malicious agents that are still in the area,” Mina quickly reported.

“Negative Myoui,” the person on the other end said. “Wait for backup. We also need to sweep the area in case there are remaining explosions.”

“Hence why I need to get back in there!” Mina growled.

Unfortunately, HQ wasn’t cooperating, and Mina ended up hanging up. She tried dialing Sana, but got a simple “number isn’t available” message.

She continued rushing back to the main court, ignoring the fear in the pit of her stomach.

…

 _Unbelievable_.

Sana stared at disbelief at the ceiling, desperately trying to catch her breath. Everything hurt, and Sana felt ridiculously enervated. Jihyo beat the shit out of her. Maybe it was the unexpectedness of the situation. Maybe she wasn’t as good of a fighter as she thought she was. Either way, Jihyo had soundly kicked her ass, and now Sana was going to die. She felt a handcuff go around her right wrist, and cursed at her fatigue and pain preventing her from getting up let alone resist.

Jihyo, panting beside her, finished attaching the other end of the handcuff to a nearby railing. The girl wasn’t looking great herself, bleeding from the lip and nursing her left hand.

“That ought to hold you,” Jihyo said, struggling to get up. Sana smirked. At least she got a few good hits in. Jihyo barely spared Sana a glance before starting to walk away.

Sana’s grin transformed to a confused frown at Jihyo’s retreating figure. “You’re…not going to kill me? You do know that I know who you are, right?”

Jihyo paused, and looked back at Sana. Looking at Jihyo’s face, Sana did not see a killer of potentially several important diplomats and celebrities. It was the face of regret.

“Normally I would,” Jihyo admits. “…but I’m sparing you. Since Dahyun liked you and all. If you make it out, take care of her for me. Please.” Jihyo turns around for good this time, and escaped from Sana’s sight.

She considers trying to make some witty comeback, but Sana just lets her head fall back onto the ground and sighs deeply.

 _Fuck_.

…

Dahyun was dashing through the service tunnels, calling for Sana and looking around frantically. It was eerily silent, except for the distant sound of sirens and occasional rumble from the surface. She was already regretting coming down here, but she had committed. Dahyun decided she wasn’t leaving without Sana.

She turned a corner and came face to face with another woman. Her lip was bleeding and she looked incredibly exhausted. Dahyun immediately wanted to offer care, but then realized who she was talking to.

“…Jihyo?”

The other woman looked up, equally surprised. “Dahyun? What are you doing here?”

Dahyun was flabbergasted by Jihyo’s casual question. “What am _I_ doing here? What are _you_ doing here? You’re supposed to be downtown in some office, not in these creepy-ass tunnels! Whatever, I need you to help me find Sana! There was this big explosion outside and people are dead and we really need to evacuate before shit gets even worst and I’ve been calling you nonstop but you haven’t picked up and…”

Jihyo remained impassive and silent during Dahyun’s rant.

Dahyun finally stopped to catch her breath, and realized Jihyo hadn’t said a thing the entire time. “Jihyo, say something please! Will you help me find Sana?”

Jihyo swiftly looks down, her bangs covering her eyes. Her fists were clenched and Dahyun could almost hear the gears turning in Jihyo’s head. Dahyun was rendered speechless by this sudden change in demeanor.

“…Jihyo?”

“I can’t help you.”

“W-what? Why not?”

Jihyo shook her head, and pulled something out of her pocket. She threw it on the ground in front of Dahyun.

“Sana is up ahead. You’re gonna need that to save her. Be fast, you only have around six minutes to get out before the next wave of explosions.” Jihyo maintained a disinterested tone and refused to look Dahyun in the eyes.

“What? Jihyo what are you talking…” Dahyun started formulating a question before her mind started catching up to Jihyo’s last statement. Save Sana? Next explosions? Six minutes?!

Dahyun desperately searched Jihyo’s face for something familiar. She looked for the comfort and compassion she had always seen in Jihyo’s face during their time together. There was none of that now. Just a painfully blank expression that refused to offer any of the familiarity Dahyun had come to expect.

As realization gradually dawned on her, Dahyun hardened her own gaze. She gave up on searching Jihyo’s face, and instead glared at the key that had been thrown onto the ground.

“Better hurry.”

…

Sana was ready to give up.

She had been trying to find something to get this handcuff off of her or the railing, but there was nothing within reach. She didn’t even have a dumb hairpin to attempt to undo the lock. If Jihyo had actually set a bomb to go off, then there was nothing else she could do. The best option would be if Mina or some other form of backup miraculously found her before she was incinerated. And she hadn’t had the chance to phone them a specific location before Jihyo had shattered her phone with her boot.

Sana finally slumped onto the ground, and closed her eyes.

 _Well_ , Sana thought, _it was a good run. At least I got to meet a cutie before I go_.

“Sana? Hello?”

 _Ah, I could almost hear her voice. At least the last thing I hear is something I’ve come to love_.

“Sana are you here? Sana?”

_I wish we got a chance to do more. Maybe make her scream something else…_

“SANA?!”

Sana finally opened her eyes, annoyed at how loudly the voice in her head was being. Until she realized that Dahyun was rushing over.

“Dahyun? What? I told you to get out of here!”

Dahyun ignored the livid look Sana was giving her while she was fumbling with something in her hand. Before Sana could continue her diatribe, she realized that Dahyun was holding a key. As Dahyun clumsily tried to get the key into her handcuff, Sana felt herself tearing up.

“W-wow…I honestly thought I was a goner,” Sana admitted out loud. Once Dahyun freed Sana, the latter quickly pulled the former into a big hug. “My hero.”

Dahyun blushed. “C’mon you flirt. Let’s get out of here. Jihyo said we only have like five minutes to get out, and I don’t want this to be my last moment because you couldn’t let go of me.”

Sana laughed in spite of the serious situation they were stuck in. “Ah, but I would love nothing more than to be held by you while taking my last breath.” She could see Dahyun fighting a smile and inwardly celebrated.

“Alright Romeo, save it for the play. Let’s go.” Dahyun wrapped one of Sana’s arms around her shoulders and the duo began making their way out. Sana couldn’t help but feel impressed and grateful that Dahyun – ordinary, college student Dahyun – was the one saving her from life and death. But as she thought about it, she came to a realization.

“How’d you get the key to my handcuff?”

Dahyun didn’t say anything as the two hobbled along for a few seconds. Sana was worried Dahyun hadn’t heard the question, but then Dahyun gave a simple response.

“Jihyo gave it to me,” Dahyun said while maintaining a neutral expression. It was evident that Dahyun hadn’t quite digested what was happening: Sana had seen this before, when people shelved these shocking developments during moments where crisis management was needed. When they got out, it would surely be a different story.

Sana blew a raspberry into the air and didn’t ask anymore questions. Like Dahyun had been here when Sana thought all hope had been lost, she vowed to be there for Dahyun when she needed to come to terms with what happened. There’s a lot to unpack and not enough time right now to do it.

The duo limped towards the exit in silence.

…

Jihyo rushed out of the backstage hallway. There was a general mess of cops and spectators running around trying to find out what was happening. Jihyo quickly adopted the face of a panicked victim, and another cop helped guide her towards an exit. As he brought her to a nearby shelter, a huge explosion was heard in the distance. Jihyo had been expecting it, having timed it to go off 20 minutes after she activated it, but even she was a bit startled by the earsplitting sound. Still, she kept her cool, and used the sudden burst of sound to slip away.

Jihyo jogged to the café she and Dahyun had gone to on their first day in Australia. She crept into an innocuous-looking black car in the parking lot. As she slid into the passenger seat, the person in the driver’s seat quickly started the car and began driving away.

“Thanks Tzuyu for helping me out. My original getaway is definitely not gonna pan out. Let’s get out of here.”

The tall beauty gave Jihyo a quick glance before focusing on the road.

“Are you okay?”

Jihyo huffed in annoyance. “Yeah, that agent, whoever she was, put up a hell of a fight, but I managed to suppress her. Honestly, we should really know when dangerous secret agents are running around…”

“No,” Tzuyu brusquely interrupts. “I’m talking about Dahyun. Are you really okay with leaving her?”

Jihyo slumps back onto her seat, a headache beginning to form. Things weren’t supposed to go this way. She was supposed to have cleanly blown up the broadcasting booth, retrieved a frightened Dahyun, and returned to Korea. Ultimately, her cover had been blown, and she may never get the chance to see Dahyun again, let alone explain what had transpired.

Jihyo sighed loudly. “What’s done is done. We need to report back to base.”

Tzuyu gave Jihyo another worried look. “But unnie, wasn’t Dahyun your best friend? You’re leaving her alone in a foreign country, and I know you wanted to explain properly what we’re doing…”

“That’s enough Tzuyu,” Jihyo bitterly snaps. Tzuyu winces at the volume. “You and I both knew what we were doing when we got into this. This job is stressful enough already. Please drop it.”

Tzuyu thinks that she should press harder. She should make sure that Jihyo doesn’t have any regrets about this decision. But maybe there’s a better time and place for it. Tzuyu nods in agreement and turns back to the road.

Jihyo smiles appreciatively and starts to doze off. Tzuyu understands that the conversation was over. “If you’re happy unnie…”


	3. The Last Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girls play their favorite game and friendships are ruined.

“Tzuyu, you’ve been killed. This is the last night.”

Tzuyu’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped. She looked around at the remaining members of the town. No one could look her back in the eyes. She closed her mouth and grimaced. Before she could get any words in, she felt a hand grasp her shoulder firmly.

“Please remain silent. This way Miss Chou.”

The tall maknae gave one more glare at the remaining survivors, before she got up and allowed herself to be escorted away. The three remaining townspeople sat in silence for a few seconds. Suddenly, a cough could be heard from above their seated positions. Jeongyeon, holding an index card in one hand, gestured at her non-existent watch.

“3 minutes,” Jeongyeon said.

“Oh noooooo…” Momo whined while grabbing her head. She looked at the other two remaining members, Chaeyoung and Mina, who were too busy glaring at one another to pay any attention to Momo.

“Well,” Momo begins. “You can’t both be town.”

Another silent pause. Then, Momo could hear Dahyun, Nayeon, and Sana almost dying on the couch from their loud laughter. Jeongyeon is trying to shush them, but she’s fallen to the floor laughing as well. Tzuyu is still brooding on the couch and Jihyo is chuckling while stroking Tzuyu’s hair.

Mina exhales loudly. “Okay, you’re right. So that’s why we have to lynch Chaeyoung!”

“What?!” Chaeyoung shouts. “Why me?”

“Cause you’re mafia!” Mina replies. The woman has been gradually increasing in volume as the game continued, and she was almost shouting at this point. “This is clearly one of the strategies the mafia always does in these situations. We always leave Momo at the end cause she can’t remember who made questionable votes!”

“Hey did you hear that Momo! Mina said ‘we’. Definitely mafia!” Chaeyoung swiftly pointed out, and looked at Momo with her eyes laughably large.

“What?! No! I meant all of us! Twice! Teudeungie!” Mina was slapping her thigh with each statement, and Momo was starting to worry that it would bruise.

“No way. It was definitely the royal we.”

“There isn’t even a royal we in Korean! What are you talking about?!”

“I’m trying to say that since Momo doesn’t remember any of the voting choices, we have to use psychology,” Chaeyoung brought two fingers to her head, and Momo nods unconsciously. Chaeyoung grins. “See? She agrees. That was clearly a slip up that only a person who knows they’re Mafia would make!”

Mina sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose. She catches herself, and looks up to see Momo looking suspicious and Chaeyoung’s eyes practically sparkling. “No, that wasn’t some psychological indication of my guilt. I’m just mad.”

Momo hears Jeongyeon’s wheeze and she thinks she’d be laughing too if it wasn’t for the fact that Mina was mad at _her_.

“Okay everyone shut up! I’m gonna try and piece this together.” Chaeyoung looked focused and Mina looked slightly less pissed off. Momo gulped. “So we all agree that I’m town right?”

Sana fails to suppress a loud laugh and Dahyun and Nayeon are both forcing their hands over Sana’s mouth.

Mina rolls her eyes. “Yes. We all agree. Let’s just each take like 30 seconds to defend ourselves.”

“1 minute!” Jeongyeon reminds them.

“Okay, I’m going first!” Mina rushed to declare. “Let me spell it out for you. Chaeyoung has voted to kill everybody so far. Either she’s literally useless and not helpful at all, or she’s mafia and wants to kill everybody. Even if she voted for the other mafia member, it doesn’t matter that much because it doesn’t affect her kill power and we all sorta knew it was Jihyo anyways.”

The aforementioned girl made the TT symbol with her hands.

“So she’s literally a troll or mafia. And we know Chaeyoung is a tryhard. Trust me, she voted to kill everyone that’s been accused but that’s because she didn’t want to create any sort of trail! So she’s mafia. Kill her!” Mina finishes with wide eyes and her hand raised like a sword ready to execute her enemy. It was rather intimidating, Momo had to admit.

Chaeyoung seemed to be feeling the same vibe. “Just look at her unnie! That’s terrifying and screams mafia!”

“That doesn’t even counter any of my argument!” Mina protests.

“Anyways, that’s so much unnecessary thought. Only mafia is thinking that hard to justify their actions and frame my innocent, if not bloodthirsty, voting decisions. We should be having fun, right unnie? Can you imagine if Mina is mafia and you let her win? She’ll be soooo smug! Mina is doing the thing where she doesn’t say anything all game and then only comes alive when she’s on the chopping block. We can’t let Mina keep winning by letting her stay quiet and then outsmart us at the end! Pabos unite!”

Dahyun silently saluted in solidarity.

Mina had her fingers pressing against her temples. “You didn’t even try to argue with me!”

“You’re just gonna trap me when I say something dumb!” Chaeyoung argued back.

“That’s the whole point of this game!” Mina screeches.

“Alright! No more discussion! It’s time to vote. I’m counting down, and everybody point at who you want to kill.”

Momo wanted to pull her hair out. She had come no closer to guessing who was the mafia member.

“Three!”

“Momo it’s Chaeyoung! Use your head! You can logic this out!”

“Two!”

“Unnie no! Trust your gut! We have to kill Mina!”

“One!”

Chaeyoung and Mina obviously point at one another. Momo closes her eyes and points. There’s silence for a moment, and Momo finally opens her eyes.

She voted for Mina.

All of the sudden, Chaeyoung jumps up with her fists in the air. Momo looked behind her to the couch, and saw almost everyone with their head in their hands. The realization slowly dawned on her.

Jihyo leaped off the couch and rushed to hug Chaeyoung. The latter happily reciprocated, and the duo began hopping on the floor around a distraught Mina. Jeongyeon is on the ground again, laughing. The conclusion of the game was obvious.

Mafia had won.

“YAH Momo, why did you kill Mina?!” Nayeon walked over and began shaking the girl back and forth. “We had that in the bag!”

“I-I didn’t know” Momo weakly tried to defend herself, but the dead townspeople were upset and vindictive.

“Pabo-unniiiieee!” Dahyun cawed dramatically, the back of her hand resting on her forehead as she shook her head. Sana held the pale girl and gave Momo a disappointed pout.

“We did it!” Jihyo cheered while swinging Chaeyoung around. The younger girl was laughing heartily and shouting “daebak” over and over again.

“Jihyo didn’t even do anything! We outed her in like the second day!” Tzuyu whined, lying on the couch and not so quietly murmuring about all the mistakes they made.

Nayeon at this point had given up on getting a reaction out of Momo and had gone to bother Jeongyeon.

“Yah, if you hadn’t made Dahyun medic, we could’ve saved my ass night one,” Nayeon berated while lightly punching Jeongyeon’s shoulder. The latter had yet to get up from the floor and was literally still ROFL-ing. Nayeon, displeased her complaints were falling on empty ears, started rolling Jeongyeon even harder.

“I WOULD’VE BEEN MEDIC-VP IF I DIDN’T DIE FIRST NIGHT! I wanted to protect my precious wife over here,” Dahyun objected while Sana nodded and patted the pale girl’s head.

Amidst all the yelling, Momo finally got the courage to look back at Mina, the girl she had just lynched. Mina had remained quiet despite all of the other members creating a loud cacophony of complaints and cheers. The younger Japanese girl was giving Momo one of the scariest glares she had ever seen in her life.

“M-mina!” Momo quickly said. “I didn’t know! It was so hard to choose!”

Mina continued to look at Momo silently. After what felt like an eternity (it was five seconds), Mina finally spoke.

“I guess Mochaeng TV is run by the mafia. Guess I won’t be making an appearance anytime soon.” With that simple statement, Mina turned away, the pout still evident on her mouth.

Momo sighed. She hated playing Mafia.


	4. HoA meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jihyo calls together the HoA to discuss some pressing matters.

“Alright everyone, thanks so much for coming!” Jihyo clapped her hands warmly to start the beginning of the meeting. Eight other women sat around her in her modest living room. It wasn’t quite like the meetings she held back at work, but it’s not like the Homeowners Association could afford to have a nice place for a relatively casual meeting.

And casual was certainly the phrase Jihyo would use to describe how the other eight women were hanging around in her living room. Nayeon was incorrectly sitting on the arm chair, while Jeongyeon was walking around, picking things up and trying to organize them. Momo and Sana were lying on the couch, taking up all the space, while Mina sat on the arm of the chair. Dahyun, Chaeyoung, and Tzuyu were all lying on the ground in various configurations.

Jihyo sighed. So much for trying to be professional.

“So let’s get straight to some of the issues. First of all, noise complaints! Some of the neighbors have notified me of people being too loud. Those people are…Sana, Momo, Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Dah…it’s everyone in this room. It is all of you.”

Jihyo glared at everyone, while everyone did their best to avoid eye contact. At least Mina and Tzuyu looked a little sheepish: Nayeon didn’t even look bothered.

“Okay, so let’s start with you Nayeon. Is there something you’ve been doing?”

“Of course not,” Nayeon denies. “I’m literally just living my life.”

Jeongyeon raises her hand. “I think she was literally laughing too loudly. Like, it was really loud. I can hear it from my house.”

“We live in the same house dumbass,” Nayeon shouted. And Jihyo winced slightly at the volume. Chaeyoung started laughing on the floor and Dahyun shook her head.

“Well anyways,” Jihyo interrupted before the argument escalated any further. “Jeongyeon, I would appreciate your help in keeping Nayeon a little quieter. Otherwise we will have more problems.”

“Can’t help that I’m so funny,” Jeongyeon lazily replies. But one glare from Jihyo had the older girl sitting up. “I’ll try. We’re sorry.” Nayeon gave a similarly apologetic nod, and Jihyo decided it was enough.

“And whatever the reason the rest of you guys are loud, I would appreciate it if you guys would try to keep it down.” The rest of the girls gave a chorus of agreement. “Okay, next thing we need to deal with. There are some plants that have grown way too much. Tzuyu, the plants on your property are starting to literally block the sidewalk. Can’t you trim them?”

Tzuyu looked as if Jihyo had asked to kill one of her children. “You can’t be serious?! I love those plants! Why are we allowed to have dogs run wildly in the neighborhood but my plants aren’t even allowed to live. This is some bullshit inequality!”

“Yeah!” Chaeyoung cheered from the side. Jihyo rolled her eyes at how easily Chaeyoung got involved when it came to promoting equality. The girl would defend a black widow spider if she saw one.

“First of all, we don’t let the dogs do whatever they want. Dahyun made sure to make everyone keep their pets on a tight leash. Second, we aren’t asking you to get rid of them, just to keep them a little out of the way.” Jihyo attempted to reason with Tzuyu, but the tallest woman gave her a silent glare that communicated her intentions.

Exasperated, Jihyo looked towards the leader of the School Meal Club. Even though all three of them were well out of school, they kept the moniker to feel “some semblance of youth,” as Dahyun had described it. Dahyun, as much of a kid as she acted, was always trustworthy and reliable to reign in the club members.

Dahyun got up, and laid a comforting hand on Tzuyu’s shoulder. “Hey, it’s okay Tzu. I hear we can loosely bind the plants so some sort of support so they grow more straight and not outward. If we keep them too exposed, people will get mad and touch them. And that’ll definitely hurt the plants. I’ll help you this weekend!”

Tzuyu’s gaze softened, and she nodded in agreement while giving Jihyo a small apology. The HoA leader beamed in return. “Great, thanks for being so flexible Tzuyu! Now, onto our next crisis…”

“Wait!”

Everyone looks up to see Sana raising her hand, determination etched on her face. Jihyo’s smile falters slightly, already knowing what’s coming.

“Dahyun, why won’t you spend the weekend with me?” Sana asked shamelessly. Mina facepalmed and Jeongyeon and Nayeon started laughing again. Dahyun just seemed confused.

“Uh…I guess we could hangout after I help Tzuyu with her plants?” Dahyun attempts diplomacy and Jihyo lauds the woman’s calmness despite knowing what was coming next.

“Nope,” Tzuyu says simply. Sana turned and glared at the Taiwanese woman, who stared apathetically back. “Plants are gonna take all day. They need a lot of care.”

Jeongyeon and Nayeon are guffawing without reservations and Mina has gotten off the couch arm in an attempt to hid behind the couch instead. Chaeyoung looks excited at the prospect of a fight and Momo is staring at the ceiling.

“You don’t need her for the whole day,” Sana challenges.

“She’s helping me feed my dog after,” Tzuyu responds.

“You need help for that?”

“No, but my dog loves Dahyun.”

“OKAY!” Jihyo jumps in before the argument gets any worst. “Sana, why don’t you help Dahyun and Tzuyu with their plants next weekend? You guys can all spend time together!”

Sana smirks. “Fine with me. You don’t mind Tzuyu, right?”

Tzuyu sighs in frustration. “Fine.”

“Can I come too?” Chaeyoung innocently asks. “Not to film anything. I love plants too. Of course.”

“Yeah, let’s make it a party!” Dahyun enthusiastically responds. Jihyo looks over at Tzuyu, who has her head in her hands. Mina finally comes out from behind the couch. “Let’s make it a party! Everyone is invited!”

There are a series of mumbles with varying replies. Jihyo coughs to get everyone’s attention.

“Now that that is settled, let’s move on. Momo.”

Momo finally snapped out of her daze, and sat up from the couch. “Eh? Me?”

“The neighbors have been complaining, and they’ve found your recent habits to be a bit…disruptive.”

“Eh? What did I do?”

“Well…”

“Stop digging through our trash!” Nayeon shouts. “It’s weird! What are you even looking for?”

“What that was her?!” Dahyun exclaims. “I thought it was a raccoon.”

“That actually makes a lot of sense,” Jeongyeon adds.

“What are you even doing in there?” Jihyo asked.

Momo, instead of looking ashamed, just seemed confused. “I was getting the leftovers you guys throw away?”

“To put in compost?” Sana asked.

“No, to eat. It seemed like a waste so I just eat it.”

Tzuyu looked like she was about to vomit and Mina put her head into her hands again. Jihyo noted that the woman probably needed some aspirin after this meeting.

“What, does Mina not feed you enough at home?” Chaeyoung asks, both teasingly and out of genuine curiosity.

“You guys don’t understand,” Mina whispers, more to herself than anyone else in the room. Everyone backed up a little bit. “She just eats and eats and eats and eats…I’m going to go broke if I have to keep feeding her on my own. And the amount of time I spend cooking?! I barely get to get any time to myself.”

Momo for her part looked saddened by this news. “I know! That’s why I’m eating the leftovers! For you Mina! So you can rest!”

“This is starting to look like a bit of a soap opera,” Nayeon whispers to Jihyo. The latter could only sigh for the millionth time.

“But it makes me feel like I’m not enough for you Momo! I’m trying my best, but then you just go eat some trash and I feel like my best isn’t good enough! Do you know how that makes me feel?!”

The atmosphere was starting to get heavy, and Jihyo looked to see everyone trying to look everywhere but the bickering Japanese couple.

“Okay, why don’t we calm down for a minute,” Jihyo interrupts. Mina and Momo both look like they’re about to burst into tears. “First, we can all agree to maybe pool together our leftovers in a more accessible way so Momo can get them from us instead of digging through the trash. You can always come over for food from me Momo, and I’m sure everyone else would agree.”

A round of nods and agreements came from the rest of the room, even from Tzuyu, who initially said no until Dahyun had elbowed her.

“Secondly, you guys need to see a therapist. I’ll recommend you someone later.”

Mina and Momo managed to calm themselves down, and thanked Jihyo quietly. Sana rubbed Momo’s back soothingly, while Jeongyeon pulled Mina into a hug. Jihyo smiled at the sight. Even if they were a bit crazy, she was glad to see that this HoA iteration had so much love for one another.

“Hey, are we done? Can I go home now?” Chaeyoung blatantly asked.

Maybe not that much love.

“Almost done. Just one more thing guys,” Jihyo says. Chaeyoung groans, clearly bored and wanting to go back to her house and draw. “Yeah I know we’re all tired from a clearly stressful meeting, but this is the most important one.

“We’re, uh, being sued.”

“WHAT?!”

“Why?”

“Who done this?”

“It’s who did this Chaeyoung.”

“I’m trying to be funny Tzuyu shut up.”

“Yeah,” Jihyo sheepishly says. “The old board is suing us for some reason. It doesn’t make a lot of sense, but I think they’re mad about us taking over. So they’re not only leaving their shit behind, but trying to get some money out of it on their way out. So we’re gonna need to get a lawyer and arrange some more frequent meetings…”

Everyone groaned. The HoA sucks. Even if you’re in it.


	5. Escape room

“Okay, if you guys understand all the rules, I’ll leave you to it! You have one hour.”

The gracious host of the escape room left, and the timer started. The women of TWICE stared at one another for a few seconds, before everyone burst into motion. After finally having some free time, the girls were eager to do a relaxing, bonding activity before jumping back into their busy schedules. Mina had suggested an escape room, based on some Instagram photos she had seen. And the others had eagerly agreed.

But looking at the state of the girls now, Mina was starting to have doubts. Jihyo and Jeongyeon were the only ones actually trying to read the starting hints. Sana and Dahyun had started crawling on the floors to gather any items of interest. Chaeyoung was ordering Tzuyu around, making the tall maknae search for any clues near the ceiling. Momo was brute-forcing a single lock by putting in every possible combination, one at a time.

And Nayeon was just looking around, waiting for someone to explain to her what was happening.

“Hey! How do we know what the code for this lock is?” Nayeon loudly shouted.

“Just wait a second okay! We have to read the first hints, and then we can distribute tasks efficiently,” Jihyo emphatically responds. “Sana get off the floor, your face is gonna get dirty.”

The girl in question, who had been looking under the couch, sat up in surprise. Dahyun laughed and started to lightly pat Sana’s face to remove any dust. Jeongyeon tsk-ed and came over to help clean Sana.

“Can you guys stop making such a mess! It’s not our dorm, but that doesn’t mean we should leave everything strewn about!” Jeongyeon protested.

“What, so we should just leave the room as it is and _not_ try to escape?” Chaeyoung asked sarcastically. The older No Jam stuck her tongue out, and Chaeyoung started to run over to initiate some sort of slap fight. But Tzuyu luckily held her back.

“Hey! Hey!” Jihyo stepped in. “No fighting! Thanks Tzuyu, you’re the best.”

The Taiwanese beauty nodded solemnly and continued sweeping the room.

“And Mina! What are you doing?” The girls turned to Mina, who looked pissed off.

“I’ve been telling you guys about this belt I found underneath the desk! But nobody heard me!” Mina complained, stomping her feet endearingly.

“Aww honey, I heard you!” Sana said, rushing over to embrace Mina.

“Then why didn’t you respond to me?”

“I heard you, didn’t mean I actually processed it!”

Mina had no response to that retort, and simply held the belt in the air stubbornly. The members crowded around the belt, all discussing various ways to use it. Now they were just wandering around from hint to hint, trying to collectively use their eight braincells to uncover the solution.

It was becoming clear to Jihyo that the team wouldn’t be getting anything done at this rate.

“Line up!” Jihyo commanded. Her leader voice came out, and the tone made everyone instinctively stop what they were doing and gather around. “Okay, we’re going to take this seriously! We’ve wasted 10 minutes goofing around!”

The members all looked a bit bashful, but at least they were having fun.

“So, I’m gonna make some quick teams to get this show on the road! Dahyun, you’re on lookout. Use that eagle eye to find anything suspicious. If anyone has something to locate, ask Dahyun.”

The pale girl gave a goofy salute.

“I’m pairing Jeongyeon and Sana together. You guys are going to do the puzzle on that wall over there. Tzuyu and Nayeon are also together. I want you two to focus on deciphering those symbols, or whatever they are. Mina, you’re handling the Morse code. Chaeyoung, help me put together the story. I’m sure there are some hidden hints on these papers.”

The girls quickly fanned out to attend to their duties. Already, Dahyun had found one of the symbols that Tzuyu and Nayeon had been tasked with. Chaeyoung had found a spot on the floor to begin reading.

“And if you guys have any unused things, put them on this couch over here! We’ll put the finished locks and keys on this table over here.

“And Momo…” Jihyo turns to the eldest Japanese member, who was looking exhausted after trying one hundred combinations on the lock she was working on. “You can keep going.” Momo throws her head back and emits a high-pitch whine, before returning to her work.

“Alright TWICE!” Jihyo shouts. “Let’s get it!”

A rousing cheer erupted before the groups began to focus on their individual tasks.

…

For the most part, the room was going well.

No one had gotten their hand stuck anywhere (Nayeon got her hand stuck in a drawer for a few seconds, but Mina managed to pull her out). No one had broken anything (Jeongyeon had dived to save a cup that Sana dropped). And most importantly, no one had died.

Jihyo was jostled out her thoughts when she heard Dahyun screamed. Maybe she spoke too soon.

Jihyo ran over to the other room they had uncovered earlier and found Dahyun shouting about a news article that was on the wall.

“I think I got it!” Dahyun shouted. The rest of the members crowded around.

“Alright, this is a bit farfetched, but I think it’s the best lead we have given everything we’ve been given. So this article here mentions a trend of pretty women being attacked on the street, and missing a significant amount of blood afterwards. And you might think that it’s reporting on some gunshot or stabbing, but I think it was vampires!”

A discernable facepalm could be heard.

“Vampires?” Jeongyeon asked curiously.

“VAMPIRES?!” Chaeyoung screeched.

“Yes!” Dahyun ecstatically replies. The rest of the group stare at Dahyun in confusion. “So if we assume it was vampires, then some of the hints make sense. Like there are way too many mirrors for it to be a coincidence, right?”

Silence greeted her.

“And then in the list of gifts given by the last woman, there was some garlic cloves! It’s all coming together!”

“But,” Mina interrupts. “This doesn’t tell us anything about what we’re going to do with these random colored squares.”

“…I do not have a solution for that,” Dahyun admits sheepishly.

“If you’re not gonna help us make progress, why are you wasting our time by taking all of our attentions?!” Chaeyoung scolded.

“Hey, I’m just trying to do some out-of-the-box thinking! Not like you’re doing anything to help!”

“I figured out the belt thing with the wrapping around the pole to spell the word for that one lock!”

“And look where that got us! Stuck!”

“AT LEAST WE’RE FARTHER NOW!”

“You guys have to stop arguing!” Nayeon interrupted, placing herself between the two rappers, who looked ready to start wrestling. “Let’s focus on the phrase from the Morse code instead.”

“Oh, so now you feel like being involved after doing nothing for 20 minutes,” Sana said, rolling her eyes. Nayeon quickly turned, eyes blazing.

“Hey! I helped!”

“All you’ve done is get your hand stuck and then complain for the last hour,” Sana retorted. Nayeon was left speechless, since it was true. Instead, she puckered her lips and sniffled. Sana instantly recognized the signs of what was to come. All the members were familiar with that face Nayeon makes. Before Sana could take it back, Nayeon took a deep breath.

And proceeded to pretend to cry.

“Stop it Nayeon! I know you’re not actually crying!” Sana shouted, frazzled by the new development. “Aish, god damn those acting classes!”

Nayeon ignored her in favor of running to Jeongyeon and trying to hug her. Jeongyeon desperately tried to escape, but Nayeon latched on and wouldn’t let go. Sana ran to the group and began to try to get Nayeon to stop.

Meanwhile, Tzuyu and Mina had gotten into a staring contest. Jihyo missed the actual arguing part, but the two were just silently glaring at one another, and Jihyo imagined that it wasn’t a pleasant argument.

Dubchaeng resumed their argument, while Jeongyeon began trying to pry Nayeon off of her by running around the room. Sana followed them, trying to both apologize and complain about Nayeon’s underhanded tactic. The room quickly descended into chaos, and the two quiet members of TWICE having a mental battle of sorts wasn’t helpful either.

Jihyo had her head in her hands, shaking in distress as the rest of the members argued around her. _Well, so much for team bonding_ , Jihyo thought. _Maybe we can go get some KBBQ and forget this day ever happened._

Before Jihyo could yell, another shriek pierced through the air. Everyone immediately looked around in confusion, before realizing who had made that sound. It was undeniably the call of Hirai Momo, who they had left in the first room by herself.

They all quickly walked (no sprinting was allowed) to the first room. Momo was sitting on the floor, her hair frazzled and an open lock in her hands. All of the members of TWICE looked shocked, and even Momo seemed surprised at herself.

“Well, what’s in it?” Tzuyu asked. Momo opened the chest that was previously locked, and pulled out a single key.

“Great, another key!” Chaeyoung whined, throwing her hands in the air. “We don’t even know how we would’ve gotten this chest unlocked in the first place! We’re even more lost than we were before!”

“Well we haven’t had any previous puzzle mention that chest yet,” Mina reasoned. “Maybe this could be…the key to the door?”

At once, all of the members turned to look at the front door. Jihyo turned her head, and looked at the timer, revealing that the group had only five minutes left to finish the room.

“FUCK IT.”

TWICE escaped the room in 56 minutes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading


	6. Magicians of Sunja

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The city of Sunja has a problem with magicians. Nayeon and Dahyun are sent down to investigate a series of magical incidents and arrest a magician if they find one.

Sunja was a beacon of modernity to the rest of the world. But if you asked Im Nayeon, Sunja was an evil city that literally lied on the edge of a hole to hell.

Situated in a location rife with resources, Sunja advanced quickly, able to take advantage of its abundance of fertile lands, consistent climate, and access to the ocean. Seen from above, the city looked incredibly beautiful, with its black and white skyscrapers mixed in with abundant greenery.

But that image was only achievable because of the unique land feature in the middle of the city. There was a large hole. It went miles down, and had a bottom. This bottom was populated by most of the poorer members of the city. So from the viewpoint of other cities, Sunja was this picturesque and ideal city. But in reality, the city managed to keep itself so pure and clean by forcing its trash down below, literally and figuratively.

Sunja was separated into two smaller areas: Upper and Lower. Upper housed most of the citizens, who had enough money and resources to live a lavish and comfortable life amidst the top of the hole. But Lower Sunja was infested with the poor. And worst of all, Lower Sunja was the source of magicians.

These magic users were humans gifted with special abilities: to manipulate elements, cast spells, and perform superhuman feats. But they were risks to the citizens of Sunja, who had chosen to rely on technology and society as opposed to a few humans, who were corruptible and dangerous. To protect the status quo, these magicians were deemed second-class citizens, who were to be captured and quarantined at all costs.

Which led to the problematic situation Nayeon found herself in. The veteran upper division elite officer was sitting in a car on its way to Lower Sunja. With an incredibly bored and relatively green Dahyun.

“I don’t understand why we don’t go straight down,” Dahyun complained. “It’s literally the fastest way down.”

“I’ve explained this like ten times already in the first hour of this trip!” Nayeon exasperatedly exclaimed. “There literally isn’t a way to build a stable structure that goes from the bottom of the chasm to the top! We’d have to take like a hundred elevators and it would take just as long. I don’t know why that is! I’m a police officer, not a construction worker!”

“Yeah, but at least we’re _elite_ officers!”

“Ugh, I don’t know how they let you join the upper division. You’re such a cocky little shit.”

Dahyun laughed. “Well, I imagine you need to be a certain level of arrogant to get this far. I heard you were the same way sunbaenim.”

“Don’t call me that. Makes me sound old. Maybe once you’re a little less green, you’ll mellow out.”

“I don’t know how that even happens. We’re hunting magicians! Talk about a fun job that keeps you on your toes.”

Nayeon grimaced. “It isn’t all rainbows and butterflies kid. They’re dangerous and if you go in with a big head, you’ll have it blown off before you can even pull out a witty comment.”

“Mmm yeah, trust me I’m aware. They don’t exactly make magicians seem like innocent citizens during training.” Dahyun looks out the window, suddenly feeling a bit more subdued after that last comment.

Nayeon, giving Dahyun a quick, concerned look, stares back at the winding road. “Everything good? Had a bad flashback?”

“…yeah. Just thinking about training. Wasn’t exactly a walk in the park.”

“Yeah it’s a bit fucked up. But it’s better than the alternative. Being behind bars. Rotting away. Honestly, sometimes I think it’s a bit inhumane the way we deal with captured magicians. It’s either some ridiculous reformation or just a slow death alone.”

“But you know why we have to do that, right?” Dahyun asks. “They’re potential terrorists. Every major disaster is their fault. That’s what the council says. That’s what training says. We’re keeping the peace, aren’t we?”

Nayeon has no answer to that. _I wonder sometimes_ , she thinks to herself. It’s true that every single large incident has been related to a magician going on a rampage or losing control. But she sometimes wondered if she was really helping the problem by wrangling up magicians like criminals. Especially if they hadn’t yet done anything wrong.

“Well, whatever. Wake me up when we get there unnie.” Dahyun leaned her seat back and quickly started dozing. Nayeon shook her head, but lightly petted the top of Dahyun’s head before focusing back on the road. There were still a few hours of travel before they got down there.

As Nayeon observed the plainness of the hole on her left, she couldn’t help but wonder if there really wasn’t a better way to deal with the city’s trash.

…

The duo finally arrived at the hotel. Dahyun guided an especially exhausted Nayeon, who had driven for three hours straight, to the cool front desk. As she made small talk with the receptionist who was preparing the keys for their room, Nayeon took a moment to observe her.

The receptionist spoke quietly and calmly. Her words were articulated clearly and Nayeon noted how simple yet effective her sentences were. Never more words than necessary, but expressed in a way that seemed to indicate eruditeness. As Dahyun received the keys, Nayeon took a quick glance at the woman’s nametag before quietly saying thanks.

“What’d you think of the receptionist?” Nayeon asked once they were out of earshot.

“Shy and cute, not exactly my type,” Dahyun jested. Nayeon, dropping the topic, merely sighed. Once they found their room, Nayeon immediately collapsed on the couch while Dahyun unpacked. She thought about the receptionist again as she fell into unconsciousness. The straightness of her back. The cute mole on her face. She hadn’t expected to find someone like her down in Lower Sunja.

_Myoui Mina_.

…

They started out basic. Nayeon and Dahyun met with local law enforcement. They were some clearly uneducated bullies who had somehow found themselves in positions of power. The men at the police station were large and proud, but upon seeing the white badges adorned by Upper Sunja’s most terrifying police force, they quickly acquiesced to all of Nayeon’s and Dahyun’s commands.

“That was so gross,” Dahyun said as they exited the station. “I could practically feel all their eyes stripping us in their minds. I don’t see why we can’t just wear our badges on us at all times. Then they wouldn’t even have looked up from the ground.”

“We’d never get anything done if people were constantly afraid of us,” Nayeon corrected, looking through the files the police had handed them. “Sometimes we need to blend in.”

“Yeah yeah.” Dahyun waved her hand dismissively. Nayeon frowned at her younger’s actions but kept mum. “So do the files contain anything important?”

“…nah. They paint a rough perimeter of where these strange magical occurrences are happening. But I feel like you could already somewhat see it.”

“My eyes never miss a trail!” Dahyun puffed out her chest with pride. Nayeon giggled. “There’s some evidence of magic all over the hotel we chose. It’s likely one of the staff. Or maybe someone whose renting a room.”

“No, the incidents seem to have occurred over quite a long time,” Nayeon corrects. “The file was helpful in that regard. We just need to doublecheck the guest list.”

“I guess those scumbags were worth something after all.”

Nayeon and Dahyun return to the hotel, and are greeted by the receptionist, Mina, again. She smiles as they come up and ask if they need anything.

“Hi again! We’re gonna need to take a look at the guestlist for this hotel. We’re trying to see if my uncle had been staying here,” Dahyun lies.

Mina shakes her head. “I’m afraid I’m not allowed to release that kind of information without the owner’s consent…”

Dahyun, without dropping that eerie smile, simply took out her officer badge. It was a bright white, adorned with a golden border. It was a simple circle with the depiction of a bird. Yet, every person in Sunja recognized the symbol. It was the identifying paraphernalia for the highest level of police. It stood for the freedom and advantage they possessed: they were constantly above other citizens, keeping a watchful gaze on all of those below them. The only authority they bowed to was Sunja’s council itself, the governing body of the entire city.

Mina’s eyes widened, and she appeared to shrink into herself.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize…let me pull out those records for you.”

Dahyun turned to Nayeon and winked. The latter scoffed lightly and lightly pushed the younger officer.

Mina handed them the large book, and Nayeon raised a single eyebrow as Dahyun accepted the book. They walked towards a couch in the lobby as Mina bowed her head 90 degrees.

“Something up?” Dahyun asked, as they sat on the couch and began leisurely perusing the book.

“…it’s nothing.” Nayeon finally says. She turns to look at Mina one more time before returning her focus to the book. “I just thought your excuse about your uncle was super lame.”

In the periphery of her vision, Nayeon spotted Mina exiting through the staff door. _She’s hiding something_ , Nayeon immediately concluded.

…

Nayeon idly sipped her hot tea. In spite of Lower Sunja’s elevated temperatures, she was chilly inside the hotel lobby. She supposed it was a nice amenity, to have strong air-conditioning. But she had half a mind to complain and ask the staff to turn the temperature up.

She kept an eye on Dahyun, who was interviewing one of the busboys who worked in the hotel restaurant. The duo had been busy all day, meeting with witnesses and victims, trying to narrow down their list of suspects. It wasn’t very large, considering this was a rundown hotel in Lower Sunja, but they wanted to do their due diligence. After all, Nayeon was a cop with integrity.

She briefly looked towards the receptionist. While Mina looked to be busy, typing things into a computer, her focus seemed to be on Dahyun as well. _Well, that isn’t too strange_ , Nayeon thought. _I’d be distracted too if some cops were doing some interrogations in the middle of my lobby._

Dahyun returned with a smile, and Nayeon smiled back.

“Did it go well?”

“Yeah! Nice guy. Asked for my number afterwards. Turned him down since we’re outta this shithole soon. And I think this last interview puts the nail in the coffin.”

Nayeon raised an eyebrow. “You found the suspect?”

“Well I had my suspicions since we came here. And I think you had them as well. All of the crimes were committed at times when she was on the premises. Every victim has been some piece of shit who did something mean or terrible to a hotel guest. Honestly, this was a little too easy. I’m only surprised she hasn’t ran away yet.”

“There really isn’t anywhere to run, don’t you think? You find any stability in Lower Sunja, you hold on to it.”

“Yeah, well, it was the wrong call. Let’s arrest her tomorrow after checkout. I want a nice long sleep beforehand in case things get messy.”

Nayeon sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Are you sure it’s her?” Nayeon asks one more time.

Dahyun gives her a skeptical look. “We’ve done a bunch of operations together unnie. Have I been wrong yet?”

Nayeon shook her head. The duo retired to their room. As Dahyun prepared to go to bed, Nayeon walked over to her small luggage bag. She opened a hidden compartment, and pulled out a gun. _Sorry it has to be this way_.

…

The duo checked out the next morning. Mina bid them farewell politely, without the smile this time. They placed their bags to the side, and walked up to the counter one last time.

“Is there anything else I can help you with?” Mina asks, curious why the departing guests had returned.

“Yeah, actually,” Dahyun starts casually. Nayeon rolls her eyes. “As you know, we’re officers doing a brief investigation. And I just remembered that we hadn’t interviewed you yet.” Honestly, the sarcastically innocent act Dahyun was performing would’ve been hilarious if Nayeon wasn’t on high alert.

Mina tensed. “O-oh. Of course. I’m happy to help.”

“I’m glad miss…Myoui. A bit of an uncommon name to find in Lower Sunja, am I right?”

Mina looked down, allowing her bangs to cover her face. “I was abandoned as a child.”

Nayeon elbowed Dahyun sharply. The younger briefly glared at Nayeon before returning her attention to Mina. “Right, sorry about bringing up painful memories. So we’ve been looking into a series of magical disturbances near the hotel…”

“Magic?” Mina asks. “What sort?”

“Honestly, it’s hard to tell,” Nayeon interjects. “But a lot of the incidents have been related to guests of the hotel. And comparing the time period of the incidents with the guestbook has informed us that it’s likely someone who is commonly in the area.”

“…well that’s very concerning. I can get the owner for you if that would help,” Mina offers.

“I don’t think that’ll be necessary Ms. Myoui,” Dahyun says. She smiles, but Nayeon can see that the younger’s smile is forced. “Because we think we’ve already found the suspect.”

Mina remains silent, looking between the two officers worryingly. Nayeon frowns. For some reason, she had been hoping silently that this quiet girl had not been the culprit. But Dahyun had spotted evidence of magic use around Mina at every time they had met. In spite of her shy demeanor, the girl had been clearly causing all of these accidents. Regardless of whether the intentions were pure, the rules were rules.

And all magicians had to be apprehended.

“Well Ms. Myoui,” Nayeon calmly asks, creeping forward. “I’m going to have to ask you to come with us. To Upper Sunja…”

Before Nayeon could even finish her sentence, Mina roughly shoved Dahyun onto the floor, leapt over the counter, and made a run for the hotel entrance door. However, a distinct clicking sound stopped Mina in her tracks. Nayeon, face not betraying any emotion, pointed her gun at Mina’s back.

“I wouldn’t try anything too funny. Now, turn around slowly and please put your hands up where we can see them. Dahyun, get your ass off the ground and put the sack on her.”

Dahyun, groaning, picked herself up. “I swear I’m always the first one pushed. Do I really look that fragile? Why do I always have to be the one to get close to the crazy ones while you get to just sit back and point your gun?”

“Yah! I’m the eldest among the active officers! Show some respect! I swear you and Jeongyeon are always clowning me…”

In the middle of Nayeon’s rant, Dahyun spotted Mina’s breaths condensing. She quickly realized that the temperature of the room had dropped significantly. And looking at the tension in Mina’s shoulders, Dahyun suspected something was about to happen.

“Nayeon! She’s gonna use magic!”

Before Nayeon could appropriately respond, Mina shot blasts of ice from her hands. Nayeon fired one round, but it was swiftly stopped by the incoming ice blast. Nayeon barely managed to drop her gun, which froze instantly, and dive onto the ground.

“She knows ice magic!” Dahyun shouted, running for cover.

“No shit sherlock! I thought you were supposed to be able to see this shit coming!” Nayeon ran behind the receptionist desk for cover. Mina formed large icicles and started throwing them in Nayeon’s direction. Though they were sharp and easily penetrated the wooden desk, there was enough thickness to stop them from completely going through and impaling the officer.

Dahyun, hoping Mina was occupied, ran out from cover and dove for the gun Nayeon had dropped. But Mina, reacting quickly, turned around, eyes bright blue. She froze the ground in front of Dahyun, causing the officer to slip and fall. Mina began walking over to Dahyun, hands glowing blue.

Dahyun quickly recovered and threw a punch at the magician’s face. Mina swiftly froze her arm and blocked it. Dahyun quickly withdrew her arm and rubbed it.

“Owwww! Why does ice hurt so much!” She shouted. Mina, with her other frozen arm, punched Dahyun in the stomach, nearly lifting the officer into the air. Dahyun fell onto the ground on her knees, coughing and barely managing to stop herself from vomiting. She looked up to see Mina standing above her, a sharp icicle ready.

The two stared at each for a few moments, and Dahyun, though fearful, was surprised to see Mina unmoving. The latter appeared hesitant and unwilling to kill. Before Mina could come to a decision, she was rapidly wrenched away from Dahyun and sent to the ground. Mina looked around, trying to find what was grabbing her, but there wasn’t a single person touching her.

Yet Mina found herself on her knees and unable to move, arms held rigidly at her sides. She struggled, but whatever invisible force was holding her had zero tolerance for resistance. Mina, panicking looked towards the desk, where Nayeon finally got up. The officer’s outstretched arm was pointing towards Mina, surrounded by a white hue. When Mina could finally see Nayeon’s face, she gasped. The officer’s eyes were glowing white.

“Y-you’re a magician?!” Mina cried.

Nayeon didn’t respond, focused on keeping her target subdued. “Dahyun, get the bag. Put her under.”

As Dahyun ran to the opposite side of the room, Mina was still in disbelief.

“You can’t be serious! You’re a magician hunting other magicians! That’s…that’s traitorous!” Mina yelled accusingly.

“Well, you gotta fight fire with fire. Sorry about this Ms. Myoui,” Nayeon apologized.

“You’re really helping them? Over your own kind?”

“This isn’t about that. I’m just trying to make a living…”

“By putting us in jail?! By selling out one of your own?” Mina was teary, and this was the loudest Nayeon had heard the quiet receptionist. “Do you even know what they’re doing to us up there? Do you like being the dog of some government that doesn’t treat us like humans?”

Nayeon, lacking any good answer to those questions, simply sighed. “Sorry. I know that too. But I just need to get by. And if this is what it takes…so be it.”

Mina, upset by her captor’s flimsy motivations, just glared angrily at Nayeon. She gave up on struggling and tried to catch her breath. Nayeon, tight-lipped, could only stare back as Dahyun returned with a purple sack.

“Sorry about this Ms. Myoui. We’re just gonna put this sack over your head. It’ll be like falling asleep. And it’ll let us transport you more easily without worrying about your powers or resistance.” Mina responded with silence, and Dahyun smiled. “Thanks for cooperating!”

As she slipped the sack over Mina’s head, the girl maintained eye contact with Nayeon. Once the sack was covering her head, Mina’s body fully relaxed. Nayeon released her hold, and Mina’s body sagged a little, but remained upright. Dahyun lightly grasped Mina’s arm and guided her up. Without a struggle, Mina’s body rose, and Dahyun began guiding Mina away.

“I’ll lock her in the car. I’ll leave it to you to explain to the owners unnie,” Dahyun stated, waving a hand half-heartedly.

Dahyun and Mina left the room, leaving Nayeon standing alone in a trashed hotel lobby. She didn’t move, the image of Mina’s betrayed and angry face burning in her mind. But more than the anger, Nayeon thought about Mina’s eyes. They were teary and revealed the fear and anxiety Mina felt as she was helpless to stop her capture.

And Nayeon, for the hundredth time, found herself wondering what in the world she was doing with her life.  


End file.
